In a sweeping statistical profile of children and youth in Rhode Island, Kids Count found that while the Ocean State’s population has increased slightly, its 18 and under population is declining, and large disparities exist based on wealth, poverty, race and ethnicity. Kids Count’s annual Factbook is being presented this morning to a collection of […]
Frank Prosnitz
Frank Prosnitz brings to WhatsUpNewp several years in journalism, including 10 as editor of the Providence (RI) Business News and 14 years as a reporter and bureau manager at the Providence (RI) Journal. Prosnitz began his journalism career as a sportswriter at the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, moving to The News Tribune (Woodbridge, NJ), before joining the Providence Journal. Prosnitz hosts the Morning Show on WLBQ radio (Westerly), 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and It’s Your Business, also on WBLQ, Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Prosnitz has twice won Best in Business Awards from the national Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), twice was named Media Advocate of the Year by the Small Business Administration, won an investigative reporter’s award from the New England Press Association, and newswriting award from the Rhode Island Press Association.
Posted inCity & Government
Campaign Finance: Leadership has its benefits
Leadership has its benefits – at least when it comes to campaign finances in Rhode Island. Just ask Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives K. Joseph Shekarchi, D-Warwick, who reported on April 30 that his campaign fund had raised over $200,000 in the first quarter of 2024, leaving a fund balance of nearly […]
Posted inNews
Mayor Xay expects no tax increase for full-time Newport residents
Full-time Newport residents, with house values below $1.1 million, should not expect a property tax increase, even though the proposed city budget suggests a 3.25 percent budget increase and a nearly 4 percent tax levy increase, according to Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong. Commercial property taxes and taxes on residents who are not full-time residents – those […]
Posted inNews
HousingWorks RI, a leader in addressing an “urgent housing crisis”
HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University, recognized as a leading source for information in what has been described as an “urgent housing crisis,” is among three winners of Grow Smart Rhode Island’s 12th annual Rhode Island Smart Growth Awards. “Housing Works RI has become the premier Rhode Island go to source for data and policy […]
Posted inNews
Newport Schools’ Superintendent Jermain joins What’sUpNewp for a one-on-one conversation on Friday
With less than two months remaining in the school year, Rogers High School seniors may be focused on June 12 – graduation day – and while faculty and administration might also revel in that achievement for so many students, they will also be focused on a myriad of issues that plague educators not only in […]
Posted inArts & Culture, People & Profiles
Conversation with the world’s leading ‘garbage artist;’ his trolls coming to Rhode Island
“Trash is treasure,” says Thomas Dambo, a Danish artist who has turned garbage into bigger-than-life sculptures, a giant swan in Denmark to trolls in Rhode Island. In a few days, on May 3, the first two of possibly six or seven trolls will take residence in Charlestown’s Ninigret Park. Dambo’s trolls, all built from recycled […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: Perhaps inflation is really linked to corporate greed
GDP, CPI, WPI, corporate profits, tax avoidance, consumer confidence … goes on and on, as we all try to understand the state of an economy that some politicians say is soaring and others say is in the tank. Which is it? Don’t expect me to tell you. I’m no economist. Although economists like the University […]
Posted inNews
Inflation in N.E. remains among lowest in the U.S.
Despite rapidly increasing house prices, inflation in New England remains among the lowest in the nation, at 2.1 percent compared to 3.2 percent nationally, according to the latest Economic Conditions Report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The Boston Fed said costs rose for housing, food, transportation, and medical prices, while “all other expenditure […]
Posted inNews
Tourism forecast – ‘reasons to be optimistic’
With airlines struggling, a world in chaos, and consumers cautious about spending in a presidential election year, you might think that would project a bleak outlook for the upcoming tourism season. But to the contrary. Evan Smith, President and CEO of Discover Newport, says those factors leave him with “a lot of reasons to be […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: Renovating a historic theater – more than two decades later
As I sat in the newly renovated New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway some years ago, I could not help but marvel at how this renovation recaptured a golden era, and its importance to the economic revival of New York City’s Broadway district. It was, perhaps, the showpiece of the district’s revitalization, a Disney project to […]
Posted inNews
Exploring challenges while creating a new vision for Newport Schools — WUN’s monthly conversation with Newport’s School Superintendent
Newport’s Rogers High School has among the highest percentage of poor students in Rhode Island, and it is reflected in test scores. It is also reflected in high levels of absenteeism, something schools statewide are trying to resolve, including Newport. Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain joins WUN tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. for our live virtual video […]
Posted inNews
‘No daffodils for the North End’
What began as a documentary about city residents’ resilience during the pandemic has evolved into an organization that is demonstrating how resilient the city really is. Susan Sipprelle, a documentary filmmaker, spent three years shooting, editing, and developing “Newport: In This Together,” interviewing 108 Newporters and finding a city and its residents that are resilient, […]
Posted inNews
Celebrating 12 years of What’sUpNewp
WhatsUpNewp, today (March 12), celebrates its 12th anniversary. It would have been hard to imagine a decade ago that this idea would evolve into such an influential and vital part of so many lives – telling the stories from various entertainment stages to the streets of Newport, from local government meetings to the State House. […]
Posted inNews
New England: Wages increasing faster than inflation
For New England, wage increases are outpacing declining inflation, according to the latest New England Economic Conditions report, released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Even so consumer confidence last month “was down slightly” from a year earlier, while nationally it increased by a small margin, the Boston Fed reports. The Federal […]
Posted inCity & Government
Will de-politicizing CRMC win legislative support?
Shoreline access has been a hot-button issue for many communities in Rhode Island as legislators seek to adopt rules to assure Rhode Islanders’ access to beaches, protect homeowners, and strengthen the organization that oversees the state’s shoreline. That was the motivation behind the legislation proposed by Senator Victoria Gu, D-Dist. 38 (Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown) […]
Posted inCity & Government
Budget, school construction, and attendance are all on the agenda for WUN’s conversation with Newport School Superintendent
While kids were on their winter break, Newport School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain remained focused on a myriad of issues, including strategic planning, the budget, and Rogers High School construction. She joins WUN for her monthly videocast on Wednesday, February 28, at 1:30 p.m. to discuss these and other issues in Newport schools. These are […]
Posted inCity & Government
On the ballot: Constitutional Convention
Voters in November, besides a host of contested political races and statewide and local referenda, will be voting to determine whether the state holds a constitutional convention. If approved, it will be the state’s third constitutional convention since 1973, and first since 1986. The 1986 constitutional convention was the last held by any state in […]
Posted inNews
Schools: Meeting the challenge with less money
Will the governor’s proposed budget ease challenges for schools across the state that are bracing for lost COVID funds and the Rhode Island Department of Education no longer forgiving districts for declining enrollment? Add to the lost federal and state funds, there are concerns in some communities that town or city councils will level fund […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: Greatest threat to Democracy — Indifference
Indifference. As the future of our democracy is debated in this presidential election, as fears grow that some candidates are intent on unraveling our form of government, as the demonization of facts becomes the norm, perhaps democracy is most at risk from indifference. According to Ballotpedia and Ballotready, more than 60 percent of the 500,000 […]
Posted inCity & Government
Homeless shelter on URI campus opens Tuesday
After a couple of months navigating the state bureaucracy, officials now say a 12-family homeless shelter at the University of Rhode Island is expected to open on Tuesday. “It’s a go, we’re excited and overwhelmed,” says Russ Partridge, executive director of Westerly’s WARM Center, which will manage the facility. The shelter will finally open after […]
Posted inCity & Government
Legislative Outlook: Senator Dawn Euer (D – Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown)
With the start of Rhode Island’s legislative session now a few weeks in, we reached out, as we have these past few years, to the area’s legislative delegation with a brief survey looking at their initiatives in the past session, and what they hope to accomplish in the 2024 session. We also asked about their […]
Posted inNews
A decade after receiving a $4.2 million state grant, Opera House project still needs millions to complete restoration
It has been nearly a decade since Rhode Island voters approved a creative and cultural economic bond that provided the Newport Performing Arts Center $4.2 million, and it has been more than 22 years since the opera house renovation was first envisioned. When NPAC received the state grant, it was welcomed by then Board Chairwoman […]
Posted inNews
Superintendent Jermain joins What’sUpNewp for a live virtual video conversation on Jan. 31
With the school year half over, WhatsUpNewp will check in for our monthly videocast with Newport Schools’ Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain on Wednesday, January 31 at 1:30 pm, updating ongoing projects and looking at future funding, some of which is now in jeopardy. Statewide, COVID relief funds to school districts are drying up, and the […]
Posted inNews
Kids Count snapshot: Kids living in poverty, foster care, or minorities are at risk
This year’s annual Kids Count, while recognizing some gains in Rhode Island, shows instead a dire situation for children who are in foster care, are members of minority groups, or those that live in poverty. The report was issued today with a long list of recommendations, many seeking funding for new or existing programs. Most […]
Posted inCity & Government
Legislative Outlook: Senator Linda Ujifusa, D-Dist. 11 (Portsmouth, Bristol)
With the start of Rhode Island’s legislative session underway, we reached out, as we have these past few years, to the area’s legislative delegation with a brief survey looking at their initiatives in the past session and what they hope to accomplish in the 2024 session. We also asked about their perceptions of the state’s […]